On January 18, the OIGs for USAID, State, and DoD published the “Joint Strategic Oversight Plan for Ukraine Response.”

This plan, featuring 14 completed and 64 planned and ongoing oversight projects reflects the continued commitment of the Inspector General community to provide comprehensive oversight of U.S. assistance to Ukraine and its people following Russia’s unprovoked invasion.

See also: In Brief: Joint Strategic Oversight Plan for Ukraine 

Last month, we proudly participated in The World Bank’s Internal Audit and Integrity Group forum, alongside oversight leaders at World Bank, UN agencies, and bilateral donors. The forum discussed opportunities to collaborate on oversight activities and provide mutual support in investigating allegations of fraud, corruption, and sexual exploitation and abuse compromising foreign assistance.

On the sidelines of the conference, we met with counterparts from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in furtherance of our partnership on investigations of fraud and abuse compromising U.S. and EU foreign assistance programming.

OIG’s FY 2023 Oversight Plan describes ongoing and planned oversight activities for USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the U.S. African Development Foundation, and the Inter-American Foundation.

OIG’s oversight plan includes audits, inspections, evaluations, and investigative efforts, as well as ongoing outreach and coordination to expand the safety net around U.S.- funded foreign assistance.

We announced Van Nguyen as our new Assistant Inspector General for Management. Ms. Nguyen brings to the role a deep understanding of the foreign service, our oversight mission, and over a decade of experience in leadership roles at OIG. Ms. Nguyen's commitment to OIG and understanding of the importance of this role to the success of OIG’s operational divisions makes her uniquely well-suited to serve.

We announced Marc Meyer as our new Assistant Inspector General for Investigations. As the former Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, Mr. Meyer has a deep understanding of our unique mission and has been intimately involved in many operational improvements in the Office of Investigations. Mr. Meyer has also been at the center of our Ukraine response, leading our 3IG Ukraine coordination, and is an Executive sponsor for our Data Working Group and DEIA program.

We announced Gabriele Tonsil as our new Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Audit. Ms. Tonsil brings extensive experience in the oversight community to her new role.

Prior to joining USAID OIG, Ms. Tonsil worked for the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. She also worked in various leadership roles at the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction for more than a decade.

We announced Steve Ober as our new Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility.

Mr. Ober’s new role will challenge us to be more culturally aware, connected, and inclusive. In the coming months, Mr. Ober intends to conduct listening sessions across OIG to better assess our current climate.

With this information, Mr. Ober will be better situated to pull together the right mix of training, programs, and events needed to help build unity, cohesion, and a sense of belonging at OIG.

Why We Did This Evaluation

• September’s Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023, required USAID OIG to submit a report on the monitoring and safeguards in place over the $4.5 billion that the Act provided for direct budget support to the Government of Ukraine (GoU).
• USAID provided the $4.5 billion in assistance to the GoU via the World Bank’s multi-donor trust fund known as the Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance in Ukraine (PEACE) fund. This fund reimburses the GoU for its expenditures on government salaries, social assistance and pension payments, and grants to internally displaced persons.

What We Found

• The monitoring mechanisms and safeguards established for the $4.5 billion through the PEACE fund to the GoU align with Federal Standards for Internal Control established by the U. S. Government Accountability Office.
• We could not assess the operational effectiveness of the controls because they had not taken effect during the reporting period.

Why It Matters

• According to USAID, the $4.5 billion will allow the GoU to withstand the immense economic, social, and political pressures from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
• It is incumbent on USAID and The World Bank to ensure accountability and transparency in the use of these funds. 
• OIG’s review provides assurance that the design of monitoring and safeguards align with federal internal control standards.

See also: Information Brief of USAID’s Direct Budget Support to Ukraine.

Why We Did This Evaluation

• In July 2021, the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations requested that we evaluate key aspects of USAID Bureau for Africa’s strategic workforce management practices by examining how the bureau manages at least one mission in Africa.
• This evaluation builds upon the efforts of OIG’s May 2022 Agency-wide audit on strategic workforce planning. 
• Our objectives were to evaluate USAID Bureau for Africa’s approach for (1) assessing current and emerging staffing needs at the bureau level from FYs 2015-2021, and (2) supporting mission-based staffing needs assessments and allocations from FYs 2015-2021, using USAID/Rwanda and USAID/Sudan as illustrative missions.

What We Found

• Without Agency guidance or tools to conduct a comprehensive staff assessment, Bureau for Africa officials found it difficult to determine whether the bureau had an adequate staffing composition to deliver on its mission.  
• The Bureau for Africa piloted USAID/Sudan’s staff assessment and facilitated aspects of Agency-wide staff allocation processes. Based on Agency policy, information that underpins these allocation processes was provided by missions but not vetted by the Bureau for Africa, which could put the bureau at risk of using irrelevant and unreliable information.

Why It Matters

• The observations discussed in this evaluation are symptoms of systemic, Agency-wide workforce planning challenges that USAID must address to fulfill its mission and respond to new priorities.
• We offered this information for the Office of Human Capital and Talent Management’s consideration as they finalize strategic workforce planning guidance and address recommendations from our May 2022 strategic workforce planning audit.